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Saturday, February 23, 2013

Tianjin, Day 6 in China

Event date: 8th December 2006

Our bus had undergone a minor maintenance due to a cold weather, thus, we started a little bit late, allowing us ample temple to check out and had a peaceful breakfast. We headed straight to Tianjin from Chengde and did not overnight in the 3rd largest city in China. The journey was very pleasant with beautiful sight along the road.

What a nice created Retaining Wall, never seen this before

Arriving Tianjin City

A journey to Tianjin took about 1.5 hours. Tianjin means Port to Heavenly Capital. 130 kilometers
southeast of Beijing, it serves as Beijing's gateway to the Bohai Sea. People
started to settle down in Tianjin during the Song Dynasty (960-1279A.D.). By the 15th
century it had become a garrison town enclosed by walls. After several decades
of development, Tianjin is now one of China's leading manufacturing and
commercial centers. A visit to the famous Food Street and the Culture
Street, which was first constructed in the Ming dynasty is a must.

Tianjin has a shopping district where they've tried to replicate the old style China. Its called Old Culture Street or Gu Lou. I purchased some traditional clothing and souvenirs here from the site shops for good prices. There are 3 streets of the same theme spreading from this center building. Don't let the expensive look of the side shops scare you, my advice is bargain as low as you like.

Tianjin is one of the four municipalities in China. Its name means 'the place where the emperor crossed the river'. Facing the Bohai Sea, Tianjin, the one time imperial port, serves as Beijing's vital gateway to the sea. In recent years it receives more and more attention from visitors due to its illustrious historical heritage and other natural resources.

It is no exaggeration to say that Tianjin bears a splendid historical background. However, it was desecrated by foreign invaders long before the foundation of People's Republic of China. The city was once shared by nine countries: Italy, Germany, France, Russia, Great Britain, Austria, Japan and Belgium. This marked an extremely hard period for the city and her people because those imperialist countries left permanent marks in her body, most notable of which were thousands of villas. Today those villas provide an exotic flavor, enhancing the beauty of the entire city.

Colonial house in Tianjin

Blessed with variety of attractions, Tianjin is a good place to explore. The top ten attractions are Jinmen Shijing, are Gu Wenhua Jie, Dagu Emplacement, Huangyaguan Great Wall, Dule Temple, Haihe River, Water Park, Panshan Mountain, Hotel Street and Food Street, TV & Radio Tower and Zhonghuan Cailian. There are also many natural scenes of beauty as well as great historical events.

Remarks: There are many Muslim in Tianjin. We had a lovely steamboat at the Muslim restaurant in Beijing. For the first time after 6 days in China we had halal meat for our meal. We were served with fish but it was a fresh water fish which had many fish bones. It was a rich and heavy diner that made we sweat with warm and heartening meal that night. What a blessed day.